The manifesto also outlines plans to strengthen school safety, improve access to water and sanitation facilities and introduce an annual education performance dashboard to monitor enrolment, dropout and completion rates
By Moses Okorie
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has unveiled plans to overhaul Nigeria’s education and healthcare sectors, promising to recruit 20,000 additional teachers, reduce the number of out-of-school children by half and increase functional primary healthcare centres to 90 per cent by 2031.
The commitments are contained in the party’s 2027–2031 manifesto under Pillar Two, titled Better Quality and More Affordable Life for Every Nigerian, which outlines its proposed interventions in education, healthcare, skills development and social services.
On education, the APC pledged to expand the HOPE-EDU programme nationwide, with the objective of halving the country’s out-of-school population by 2031.
It also promised to extend the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), currently implemented in 18 states, to other states with high numbers of out-of-school girls.
In its manifesto for the 2027 general elections issued on Tuesday in Abuja, the party said it would establish special return-to-school pathways for teenage mothers to enable them to resume and complete their education.
Building on the 80,284 teachers already certified and licensed, the APC plans to recruit and train another 20,000 teachers, with priority given to female educators and communities facing shortages of qualified personnel, particularly in rural areas.
The manifesto also outlines plans to strengthen school safety, improve access to water and sanitation facilities and introduce an annual education performance dashboard to monitor enrolment, dropout and completion rates.
To improve learning outcomes, the party said it would prioritise foundational education, science, technology, engineering, mathematics and digital skills across all levels of learning.
It further pledged to strengthen partnerships with industries to provide students with practical training and employment opportunities that reflect current labour-market demands.
Other proposed interventions include expanding NELFUND, the National Smart Learning Initiative, Student Venture Capital Grant and Diaspora BRIDGE programme, while sustaining industrial peace in public universities.
The party also promised to expand technical, vocational and digital training programmes, building on the existing TVET initiative, which has recorded 117,152 verified trainees.
According to the manifesto, the monthly stipend under the programme has increased from N22,500 to N30,000, while future performance would be measured by graduate employment, business survival and workplace productivity.
In the health sector, the APC promised to expand primary healthcare services, upgrade secondary hospitals across all local government areas and improve referral systems connecting primary facilities to tertiary hospitals.
It set a target of raising the proportion of functional primary healthcare centres from 53 per cent to 90 per cent by 2031.
The party also plans to extend direct quarterly financing under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund to all 17,600 primary healthcare centres, from the current coverage of about 8,300 facilities.
On health insurance, the APC pledged to increase active coverage from more than 23 million enrollees to 40 per cent of the Nigerian population by 2031, while reducing out-of-pocket spending from 71 per cent to below 50 per cent of total health expenditure.
The manifesto further promises to extend the MAMII free emergency obstetric care programme from 172 local government areas to all 774 councils.
Other healthcare commitments include completing the revitalisation of approximately 1,000 primary healthcare centres, providing reliable solar electricity to 30 per cent of health facilities by the end of 2027 and establishing oncology centres across the six geopolitical zones.
The APC also pledged to recruit, train and retain healthcare workers through improved employment conditions and housing support.
In medical manufacturing, the party proposed commercialising BioVaccines Nigeria to achieve 50 per cent local production of essential medicines by 2031.
It also promised to complete the National Health Information Exchange to facilitate access to portable electronic medical records and ensure comprehensive Emergency Operations Centre coverage across the states.
The proposed measures, the party said, are intended to improve educational standards, strengthen healthcare infrastructure, expand access to essential services and enhance the quality of life of Nigerians between 2027 and 2031.